I joined eMusic a few weeks ago, and it's been going pretty well. The only thing wrong with it is that you don't get 50 free downloads for getting other people to sign up until they actually pay for a month of the service. Other than that, it's great to get DRM-free songs for cheaper than iTMS.

Oh, the other problem is that Sub Pop doesn't sell music there. Which really sucks because I'm obsessed with The Thermals. Their new record is pretty much unbelievable. I heard they discovered a fourth chord?

Anyways, I started talking about eMusic because it tipped me off to Marnie Stern. I bought her record, In Advance of the Broken Arm, and I've listened to it every day since. It took me a little while to get into because the drums aren't what I'm normally into, but this record really has it's hooks dug into my brains. I've always felt a little strange when people say they need a few listens to get into a record, and this is maybe the first time that's happened to me. I've always wondered why you would keep listening to something if you really didn't connect with it right away. There was something about this record that made me want to keep listening even though I wasn't initially into it.

So, I'm still trying to figure out what that is, and I've got a few theories. 1: It's technically complicated and sonically dense. Maybe subconsciously, there was something there that I connected with, but couldn't put my finger on. 2. There's some mind-blowing guitar riffs all over this record, but the drums were really getting in the way of that at first. 3: I paid ca$h money for it.

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